


Great Minds Think Alike

by Emky, ikitty2



Series: Land of Loratia [9]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bars, Drinking, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inventor, Other, Pirates, Unintentional drug use, and no i dont mean that kind of mate, everyone hates my poor baby for no reason, gotta love first mates and their badassitude, mary's gotta save the day, oh and dont hand your magical medallions to strangers, this has to do with pirates you perv, why do people gotta be hatin green hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-05 11:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5372966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emky/pseuds/Emky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikitty2/pseuds/ikitty2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One man goes so far as to make a grab for her arm, but before the she can warn him not to touch her, he is on the ground having collapsed from an injection from her personal protection system. Startled, the girl jerks back from the writhing man and frantically looks around at the faces in the crowd as they quickly recover from their surprise and start moving towards her. Panicking, the young woman shoves past a couple of people who weren’t fast enough to move out of her way and dashes for the door, trying to escape the mob that had formed behind her. <br/>Not wanting the girl to be chased down like a dog, Mary does what she does best and creates a distraction.<br/>“Well now that she left, DRINKS ARE ON ME!!!” <br/>Cheers from many of the bar goers echo throughout the room, but a few rough looking drunkards stumble out the door. 'Son of a yellow-bellied bilge rat fucker,' Mary curses to herself. <br/>She leans down to a member of her crew and whispers, “Take care of the drinks, I’ve got a skirt to chase.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Great Minds Think Alike

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first proper collaboration that we both actively wrote together. We're very happy with the results and hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Dim light illuminates the room, lighting filthy wooden floors and mysteriously stained walls. Patrons of the bar are scattered about, but there’s one group in the middle, listening to some girl on a table as she spins the last few paragraphs of her tale. She crouches down on the table, making eye contact with many of the patrons of the bar.

“So I ran him through with my blade! And do you want to know what the devil said to me? He offered me a deal. My blade, for one of the many amulets I am wearing tonight! After a game of twenty questions, of course, every fae creature has a barrage of questions before getting an item apparently, oh what the fuck do I care?” Mary stops to straighten her pose into one of a regal captain as she continues with her tale. “So! The creature finally agreed, and just as I was about to inquire about the exit, he tossed me the amulet and told me the way to go.”

A petite hand suddenly taps the captain’s boot repeatedly, and a hesitant voice speaks up. 

“You called the creature a devil, was it actually one, or was that just a play on words?”

Mary looked down at the girl with surprise that quickly turned to joy at the prospect of having someone so interested as to ask more about her story.

“Well actually, I don’t know what it was specifically, though it was most definitely not human. It was floating off the ground with bright orange eyes and blood red hair. Teeth as sharp as razors!” 

Mary stands back up to project her voice over the crowd.

“His home was covered in snow but it looked just like spring, the Forest of the Lost is where I ventured and came back alive!”

“But wait, where is this Forest of the Lost even located?”

A boisterous laugh fills the room as a grin stretches across Mary’s face. She leans back down in the girl’s direction.

“Located? Located?? It’s called the Forest of the Lost for a reason! The only way to get there is to get lost. In a forest.”

The girl’s disappointed expression is hardly visible before the two’s conversation was interrupted. 

“But then-”

“Hey crazy, how ‘bout you ease up on all the questions, huh? What, do you think this tale is crazy when you’re there in your mad laboratory half the day?”

Frowning, the young woman opens her mouth to respond but never gets the chance to speak when more of the patrons start joining in.

“Yeah, how can you question a credible captain when you’re down there in that danky basement probably making something that’s going to destroy the world.”

“But I wasn’t-”

Another man from farther back pipes up.

“At least this captain has better tales to tell than you when you go on about all those stupid windy bits and some contraption of yours.”

Mary looks around, shocked by the hatred in the room directed towards this girl. As she goes to defend the woman, her voice is overshadowed by the high pitched, nasally sound of one of the bar maids shouting.

“And what is even with your hair? Honey, you’re not going to get anything with that mop on your head. What man in their right mind likes green on anything other than a salad?”

The girl glances in the wench’s direction to shoot her a confused look, briefly wondering where that comment even came from, but her attention is quickly pulled back to the growing hostility in the group surrounding her. One man goes so far as to make a grab for her arm, but before the she can warn him not to touch her, he is on the ground having collapsed from an injection from her personal protection system. Startled, the girl jerks back from the writhing man and frantically looks around at the faces in the crowd as they quickly recover from their surprise and start moving towards her. Panicking, the young woman shoves past a couple of people who weren’t fast enough to move out of her way and dashes for the door, trying to escape the mob that had formed behind her. 

Not wanting the girl to be chased down like a dog, Mary does what she does best and creates a distraction.

“Well now that she left, DRINKS ARE ON ME!!!” 

Cheers from many of the bar goers echo throughout the room, but a few rough looking drunkards stumble out the door. Son of a yellow-bellied bilge rat fucker, Mary curses to herself.   
She leans down to a member of her crew and whispers, “Take care of the drinks, I’ve got a skirt to chase.” He nods his head in understanding as Mary discreetly makes her way to the exit as the mob crowds around the bartender.

As Mary walks out into the cool night air, she checks her pockets to make sure that all of her trinkets are still in order. She looks around the street, noticing many empty market stands, but finds a local bakery that’s still open. She walks to the door, hearing a small bell ring indicating her entrance. The sight of delicious pastries greets her eyes as well as the smell of sweet dough. She pretends to be interested in some of the store’s wares before walking over to the store clerk with a small sweet bun in hand and placing coins on the counter. The clerk eyes her suspiciously while counting the change before Mary speaks.

“So, I hear there’s a local kook in the town, known for making crazy contraptions that are better left undiscovered. Any idea where this freakshow lives? I’d like to pay her a visit.”

Mary grins maliciously and the clerk eyes her various weapons before letting a small smirk adorn his face. 

“She lives on the edge of town by the docks in an old abandoned factory. Oh and-” he hands the bun to Mary in a bag, “give her an extra kick for me, would ya? She blew up one of my stalls a few months back.”

Mary nods sympathetically as she heads to the door.

“Will do, kind sir.” The kind of sir I’d like to kick in the ass, she thought.

Walking down the street for a few paces and tucking the sweet bun into one of her many coat pockets, Mary glances around to see if there’s anyone else nearby and breaks into a sprint. Luckily the docks aren’t too far away from the bar she had been enjoying herself in not long ago and she soon finds herself close to where the girl should be residing. Hardly out of breath, Mary adjusts her coat and harnesses and slows down to a more manageable pace to start searching for a building that looked like it was once a factory. Finding a large brick and metal structure a little ways off, she decides to investigate.

As soon as she opens the heavy door at the front of the building, Mary is met with a loud metallic screech and pitch blackness, and as soon as she takes her first step inside the boundary, she loses her footing and feels herself being hoisted upwards and lets out an undignified yelp. No longer able to sit completely upright, Mary assumes she is in some sort of cage. Deciding that attempting to free herself when she cannot see how high up she’s being held is probably not the wisest decision, she elects to sit tight and make herself comfortable. Not knowing how long she would have to wait for help or if she would have to be here until dawn broke and she could finally see what predicament she got herself in this time, she prepares to whistle a tune to herself to pass the time.

Hardly a handful of seconds after the trap had sprung, a blinding light flicks on and Mary can see that she is indeed quite high off of the ground. Although curious about all of the strange machinery lying about, she tries hurriedly to search for the small girl with green hair from the bar. Spotting her after but a moment, she grins down at her scowling face and attempts to reason with the one currently holding her captive.

“Greetings! I was just about to perform one of my favorite shanties I picked up back at my home in Ailes. Care for a listen? In fact it sounds better when I am on the ground and not being threatened by imminent death.”

Ignoring the captain’s oddly chipper pleading, the young woman walks over to a panel of levers and switches connecting to a system of cables and wires that lead to the cage presently holding Mary off of the ground.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Well a cup of tea would be nice.”

Pausing for a second to process the response she was very much not expecting, the girl quickly flips some of the switches and pulls a single lever, causing yet another horrible metal grinding noise right above Mary. Sparing a glance upwards, Mary can now see three metal beams sparking with electricity and quickly becoming redder at the tips as the metal heats up from the current running through them.

“If you don’t tell me why you’re here in the next three seconds, I have no qualms with pulling this lever and letting those rods touch that cage. I hope you know what happens when a fleshy body comes in contact with electricity.”

“Well as a matter of fact I do, and that’s why I have this!”

Mary pulls out a blue medallion, and shows it to the girl.

“It protects me from all forms of electricity, it even extends to the rest of my ship and crew when we’re in a storm, here take a look.”

Mary throws her the medallion. Catching the necklace easily, the girl looks down at it, then back up at the captain and squints her eyes.

“... You’re not always the brightest with these things, are you?”

“Well it’s past three seconds and I have peaked your interest so, I’d say that I did what I intended. Oh! And as for why I’m here, which by the way, wasn’t your first question. I wanted to know what you were going to ask me in the bar. So I found out where you were, and look!” Mary holds out the bag from the bakery. “I even brought a peace offering.”

Sighing, the girl takes her hand off of the lever and looks back down at the medallion, still not letting Mary down but no longer actively trying to threaten her. 

In a small voice, the girl says, “I had thought you were here to harass me like the others. I still don’t know why you would come all the way here for something like that but I guess not electrocuting you is something I am now considering.”

An impish grin adorns Mary’s face.

“Oh please, as if I need lessons on harassment, I think I am doing just fine harassing you without their help. So about that question of yours, mind telling me?”

“I don’t remember what it was anymore… I guess it wasn’t that important, huh?” A small smile forms on the girl’s face, not reaching her eyes. “You probably don’t want to be here anymore if that’s all you wanted. If I let you down you should just leave. I don’t want to have to make you go.”

Disbelief is shown through Mary’s eyes as she speaks.

“Don’t want to? Be here? But you’re the first person to ever take interest in the details of my tales. And you weren’t even trying to criticize me for it...and you made these cool traps, and have sparky sticks of death, not to mention the fact that you made a guy collapse without touching him. Leave? No chance, you are way to awesome, and this sweet bun smells way too much like a blossoming friendship for me to just leave. Sorry but it seems like we’re stuck together, so you might as well tell me your name.” 

Searching the captain’s face for any sign of malice, the girl is slow to respond.

“It’s Leslie. Leslie Bernadette.”

“Well Leslie, my name is Mary King Jackson and I will now hypnotize you into letting me down with these sweet bun powers of friendship~!”

Leslie can’t help but giggle a little bit at the sheer ridiculousness of that statement. She turns back towards the control panel next to her and begins throwing switches again, this time much slower than before.

“If I’m going to be receiving your sweet bun of friendship any time soon then I suppose we should be on equal footing. Just for the record, I still don’t really trust you and that wasn’t the only trap I have in here so don’t get any ideas.”

“Well sweetheart, with a pretty face like yours I can’t help but get ideas, but for my own safety I’ll keep them to myself.” Mary starts smirking and waggling her eyebrows.

“... Please do.”

Finally flipping the last of the switches and deactivating the electric rods, Leslie opens a hatch with a button underneath and holds it down, slowly lowering the cage to the ground. Walking over to the now grounded trap, she unlatches the door and takes quite a few steps back to let Mary get out whilst keeping her distance. Crawling out of the cage and hopping to her feet, Mary takes two confident steps forward before catching the toe of her boot on a heavy work-wrench lying in her path and falling forward quite dramatically, arms flailing. The poor bun that was still being held by the pirate flings into the air and lands a few feet in front of her sprawled form, still in it’s bag. Leslie quietly laughs before cautiously approaching and offering a hand to help Mary off of the floor.

Mary nods in thanks before walking towards the bag, she slowly lifts it to check inside and winces at the contents.

“Well...it was a sweet bun, but it seems to have evolved into a pancake...you don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to...”

“No, I’ll still eat it. Food is food after all. Oh, and here. This was yours.”

Taking the bag from Mary, she trades it for the medallion the captain had brilliantly tossed at her earlier. Mary can’t help the hopeful expression that takes over her face, as she puts the medallion around her neck once more. 

“Does this mean we can be friends?”

“I mean, I don’t really know what being friends entails, but sure?”

“So since we’re friends, can we have some tea?”

“If you insist.”

Leslie places a beaker with water over a burner and lights the flame, then gets out a strange looking teapot of sorts and removes the top section. Rummaging around what seems to be some sort of pantry intermixed with tools and the odd gear or spring, she brings out a small box of loose leaves and herbs. Placing them into the removed section of the pot, she fits the whole device back into the teapot and walks away to search for cups. Coming back with more beakers, smaller than the one boiling water, she then clears an area off of a countertop and throws handfuls of parts into various containers and bins and places the makeshift teacups on the counter. She pulls some stools that Mary would not have otherwise seen out from under a pile of scrap metals, placing one on either side of the counter.

“I’ve never had guests before, which you’ve probably already picked up on, so you’ll just have to bear with me. The tea might be a bit odd, it’s blended with some herbs my mother used to have in her garden when I was little. I don’t think most people are supposed to drink it.”

Mary smiles, “Well people aren’t supposed to drink alcohol either but here I am with a liver of steel. Lay it on me.”

Giving a small smile in return, Leslie puts on a heavy glove and removes the boiling water from the burner carefully, pouring it into the device on top of the teapot. Water slowly trickles through the leaves and into the actual teapot itself as it’s carried over to the counter. Mary watches the device inquisitively. 

“Did you make that yourself?”

“Actually no, this used to be my father’s. He gifted it to me shortly before I left home. It’s one of the few things I own of sentimental value.”

Mary hums in acknowledgment, watching Leslie closely as she pours the tea into the small beakers before finally speaking up.

“What about the metal that’s up your sleeves? Did you make that? What does it do?” 

Leslie’s face lights up as she takes a seat and passes one of the beakers to Mary who thanks her. Rolling up both of her sleeves, Leslie exposes an intricate web of wires, circuits, and thin strips of metal wrapped around her arms. Many round button-like things smaller than a fingernail dot the expanse of the wires that reach across her skin.

“Oh, this is one of my oldest inventions. It’s a system of different interconnected devices that serve as a self protection mechanism. It’s essentially an exoskeleton that perfectly fits my body and i’ve tuned it to move with me as smoothly as possible so it doesn’t hinder my movement and I don’t even feel it while it’s on. These little round parts on the arm sections actually have tiny needles inside of them, see?” Leslie uses her nail to gently press down on the outer edge of one of the round pieces, exposing a tiny needle point in the center of the circle. “Many of these metal wires actually have tubing inside of them that pumps neurotoxins to all of the needles, so if someone were to make physical contact with most portions of my body, that neurotoxin would be injected into them. It’s not lethal, though it does hurt like a bitch and make it pretty hard to move for a few minutes.” 

“So wait, is it based off of how veins work? Is that where you got the idea from?”

“I suppose it is quite similar to veins and arteries in the circulatory system in animals and people, though I just needed a way to have the needles filled with the toxin without having to refill the individual needles once they’ve activated. The way that blood is pumped around a body is quite efficient so yes, I naturally took inspiration from that. There’s-”

“That's so amazing!!! Hey do you think you could show me how you put it together? Like do you have an older version I could look at? Was there a prototype?”

“There wasn’t exactly a prototype, per se, I made modifications as I saw fit and occasionally exchanged pieces out for other parts, but I don’t normally make a prototype for anything. I never really feel the need to remake an entire device from scratch and I normally just make improvements on the one I already made. And as far as showing you how it’s put together, I’m not so sure I’m comfortable doing that right now since it would entail me removing nearly all of my clothing and we sort of just meet…”

A smirk comes to Mary’s face, “So then that means in the future I may get the privilege to see that get up on the floor instead?” 

Mary waggled her eyebrows as a blush spread across Leslie’s face, when suddenly loud banging could be heard from the doors. Leslie visibly flinches and whips her head towards the entrance, her eyes widening. At seeing Leslie’s discomfort, a sober look forms on Mary’s face. 

“I highly doubt that those are friendly neighbors with a fresh apple pie.” She gets up and stalks towards the door with a spark of rage in her eyes. Turning to Leslie she says, “find a place to hide, I’ll cover for you.”

Ducking under the counter into an opened cupboard, Leslie closes the cupboard door as best she could from the inside and tries to calm her breathing while listening to the pirate’s brisk footsteps towards the front of the building. She hears the doors being forced open with one loud wrench. Mary addresses the uninvited guests.

“Woah woah woah, fellas! Where’s the fire?”

Holding up her hands in a placating manner, Mary approaches the small mob of drunk thugs. One man seeming to be the ringleader steps forward. Mary takes note that he has a slight limp, and his hand is resting close to his hip, indicating that he has some sort of weapon hidden. The lights glimmer off his balding head as he points a finger at Mary, and addresses her in a gruff voice.

“We’re here to kill that crazy bitch. She has been terrorizing this place far too long. Tonight was just the last straw. Halflings like her can’t just go off disrespecting good people like you, ma’am.”

Mary looks at the mob, all of the people wearing stony faces of acceptance of what their leader said. Good people? Like me? I’m a fucking pirate, I kill people for a partial living, she thought. Stifling her rage, Mary grins instead.

“Well worry no more, I am here to rid your town of this monster. I was laying wait for her to come back. But… hm, if you all are here she may become more suspicious, I think it would be best if you all left so I can get this horrid creature out of your hair.”

Stunned silence greets her before many protests echo throughout the crowd. The leader walks a few steps closer as he speaks.

“Now ma’am while I don’t doubt your skill, she is a tricky one, she may blast your eyes out before you even have the chance to look.”

Frowning a bit at the stupidity of that statement, Mary notices a friendly face in the crowd. Her trusty first mate Rodrick was in the very back trying to catch Mary’s eye. After a second of pause he spoke up, his normally calm voice turning gruff in a cheap imitation of the leader’s own.

“Maybe the woman is right? I mean after all, she is a renowned captain and has probably killed more beasts than we could ever dream of. Why not let her have her chance? If the freak survives her, we can finish her off, right fellas?!?” 

Mary gives a small sigh of relief as the crowd starts to ponder Rodrick’s words. After what seems like an eternity of trying to stare down Mary, the leader finally turns and leaves. The crowd slowly follows behind him, and Mary calls after them in reassurance.

“She’ll be gone by morning, and that’s a promise!”

The doors are closed with a loud bang and Mary walks over to the cupboard and taps on the door. A few seconds pass and Mary wonders if she’ll have to open the cupboard herself, but then the door cracks open a few inches and a single wide, honey-colored eye peers up at her, the girl inside not wanting to open the door any farther before assessing the situation.

Mary crouches down to look through the door, a small confused smile coming to her face.

“They’re gone if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Are you really planning on getting rid of me by morning…? Especially now that you know I’m a halfling?”

Leslie appears to be trying to make herself as small as possible in the corner of the cupboard, her arms hugging her knees close to herself, but her eyes held a fire that indicated she wouldn’t give up without a fight if it came down to it.

Mary’s face is blank as the words dawn on her, a sly smile crosses her face.

“Of course! After all this town doesn’t need you! But my crew sure as hell does! With a brain like yours we could rob even the most secure locations blind! And Glenda leaves at dawn, which is another word for, you guessed it! Morning! So whadaya say? Join my crew?” Mary looks unsure for a second wondering if she will be turned down.

A moment’s hesitation later, Leslie processes the request.

“... You want to make me a pirate?”

“Well… I can’t make you… but I can help you become one, if that’s what you want. If not I’m sure me and the boys could get you safely out of town, with some of your stuff.”

“I mean, that would be fun and all to go with you, and it’s not like I have anywhere else to go, but I still don’t know why you would want someone like me on your ship. All I do is-”

Mary slams her hands on her knees, a frown on her face. 

“No! You… grrrr! Nope! You are not allowed! As your captain I refuse to let you speak that way! And you know what!?” Mary grabs the forgotten bun off the counter above them, tears it in half and stuffs one half in Leslie’s gaping mouth. “You will take this bun of friendship, and be happy dammit! I will not let you think that way anymore. You are too freaking awesome and pretty to think that way! With your quick mind and green hair that looks like that of a siren and gold eyes that rival the sun! NO! MORE! YOU’RE MY FRIEND!”

“But-”

Mary rolls on to her back plugging her ears and yelling, “NOPE! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!! LALALALALALALALALALALA!!!!! Unless it’s to say you want to be a part of my crew, I! CAN’T! HEAR! YOOOOOOOOOOOU!!!!!!!”

“Fine I’ll join your-”

“LALALALALALALA-”

“For god’s sake, I-”

“I STILL CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!”

“OH MY-”

Leaning forward out of the cupboard and quickly sliding over to the captain, Leslie glances down at her and, trying to figure out how to make her stop shouting, grabs the other half of the bun from Mary’s hand half-assedly covering her ear and shoves it in her face, earning her a startled look.

“I’LL JOIN YOUR FUCKING CREW, OK??”

After swallowing the part of the bun that made it to her mouth, she gives off a thousand-watt smile. Crumbs speckled her face, making her seem even more like a child who was given a present. 

“... Why are you giving me that look?”

Mary slowly rises up from the ground and turns towards Leslie, the grin getting bigger as she lunges forward to hug her. Leslie makes a small squeak of protest at the sudden movement and immediately tries to pry off Mary, remembering the needles covering her body. Mary makes a sound of pain, but continues hugging Leslie, despite the protests.

“Ouch, that’s kinda sharp.”

“How the hell are you not unconscious?!?”

“Well you see, I have another medallion that doesn’t let me get poisoned. See!?”

Mary pushes the medal into Leslie’s hands.

“No, wait! It’s still circulating- Oof!”

Mary immediately goes completely limp and forces Leslie to hold up all of her weight, causing her to fall backwards with the pirate in toe. At a loss for what to do, Leslie starts shaking Mary by the shoulders. 

“Hey, hey! Please don’t do this, you fricken-”

At that exact moment, Rodrick decided to open the front doors to the warehouse after returning from guiding the hostile mob safely away.

“So how’s everyone holding up in h-” He pauses, taking in the position of his captain and the green haired girl. “Oh! Sorry to interrupt, I just leave until you’re do-”

“Wait! No, stop! This isn’t what it looks like! I think I killed her!”

Rodrick blinks and replies,

“Ah. Well then according to pirate code, you’re our new captain. Orders sir?”

“What?!? No, just, help me move her!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Stop that!”

Rodrick smirks and calmly walks over to lift the pirate off of the poor girl, letting her wiggle out from under the dead weight and sit up. He picks Mary up as if she weighed nothing and walks towards the door.

“I suggest you grab any valuables you care about and come with me to The Glenda.”

“But what about…”

Leslie glances at Mary, draped over her first mate’s shoulder and notes the drool dripping down her face. Pausing on his way to the entrance, Rodrick replies confidently.

“My captain would not die from something as simple as this. Do not fret, she will wake soon enough.”

He turns back around and continues making his way out the door. Leslie recovers herself and quickly moves around piles of materials on the floor to grab her teapot, wrapping it in an old tablecloth from a drawer, and stuffs it in a large bag that held many of her tools. Grabbing a few more things on her way out and making one last look around the warehouse than never once felt like a home, she follows after the pirates on the way to her new life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! If you guys have any tips, criticism, or comments, please feel free to let us know in the comments. We would love to hear from you guys. 
> 
> Also, please look forward to more stories from this world featuring these characters and others that you may have already met, and a couple of new challengers coming up down the road. We're thinking of making this into something longer, though plans haven't really formed on a larger story as of current.


End file.
